Pocket shield or protector



arch 18, 1947. H. SMITH POCKET SHIELD OR PROTECTOR Filed June 3, 1943INVENTOR 5 ATTORNEYS Pnemd M r. 18, 1941 V UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEPOCKET SHIELD R PROTECTOR Hurley Smith; Buffalo, N. Y.

Application June 3, 1943, Serial No. 489,431

. 1 Claim.

1 I This invention relates to an improved pocket shield, guard orprotector of relatively stiff, thin tion adapting it to be placed andremovably retained upright in the pocket of the user's shirt, blouse orother garment, and which comprises portions that overlie or cover theedge and adjacent portion of the front or outer wall of the pocket andalsothe outer surface portions of the garment at and adjacently abovethe pocket opening or entrance, so as to prevent such portions of thegarment from being marked, disfigured or soiled by pencils or other moreor less analogous articles or the'fingers of the user in placing sucharticles in and removing them from the pocket. The device isparticularly desirable for use as a protector for keeping cleantheshirts of workers in factories and other places where the worker hasto repeatedly use a pencil or the like and therefore has to have itreadily available while he may be engaged in other tasks on which hishands may-become soiled or greasy,-

and thus make it diflicult for him to use the pencil as required and,nevertheless maintaina desired neat and cleanly appearance of the shirtor garment having the pocket in which the device 2 is used.

A particular object ofmy invention is to provide a practical anddesirable shield or protector of thecharacter mentioned which is ofnovel, but exceedingly simple and inexpensive construction, is of lightweight and is inconspicuous and not a disfigurement to the garment withwhich it is used.

Further'objects and advantages of the invention will appear from thefollowing specification of the preferred embodiments of the invention,shown in the accompanying drawings, and th novel features of theinvention are set forth in the appended claim.-

In said drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view'of a shield or prosheet material which isof a form and constructector embodying my invention in place in thepocket of a garment and showing a pencil in,

place in the pocket and shield.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the shield removed.

Fig. 3 is-a sectional elevation of the shield and pocket on line 33,Fig. 1, and indicating a pencil about to be placed in the pocket. I

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a shield of slightly modifiedconstruction as viewed from the rear.

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectionthereof on line 5-5, Fig. 4.

terial and therefore make the shield nearly in-' The shield or protectorcomprises connected opposed or rear and front relatively flat or plainupright walls or leaves l0 and II of sheet material, the shieldpreferably being of a size and shape adapting it to be readily slippedinto and fit in the pocket of the garment so as to be retained uprighttherein against undue shifting about or displacement without the needfor any special or added fasteners or securing means. The upper endportion l2 of the rear leaf in projects out of the pocket above theupper edge or opening or entrance of the pocket so as to cover andprotect that portion of. the outer surface or front of the garment l3 atand extending a substantial distance above the pocket entrance, and theother or front leaf ll of the shield is folded to form a downwardlyextending flap it that covers the top edge and adjoining upper portionof the front or outer wall of the pocket.

Thus, when placing a pencil, .for instance, point downward, in thepocket, the lead point of the pencil can be placed against the upperprojecting portion l2 of the rear leaf, as indicated in Fig. 3, and willbe guided by it into the pocket between the leaves of the shield, andneither the pencil nor the users fingers will contact with and mark orsoil the covered or shielded portions of the pocket or garment. Bypreference, the rear leaf projects out of or above-the top of the pocketat least as high as the pencil or other articles which are placed in thepocket 'would normally project above the pocket, so that'neither suchprojecting portion of the article northe iusers fingers when removing orinserting the article, will contact with the portion of the garment lo-:aiied back of the projecting portion of the ar- Preferably, as shown inthe drawings, the shield or protector is made from a single elongated orrectangular strip of suitable relatively thin sheet material which isfolded transversely upon itself at l5 so as to form rear and frontleaves I and H connected to each other at the bottom of the shield, anda front flap l4, which extends from the top of the front leaf .lldownwardly over the upper edge of the pocket. Transparent or translucentCellophane, Celluloid or analogous sheet material isa desirable materialfrom which to make the device. Such material, while being thin andlight, yet has sufficient stiffness to retain its flat shape and standupright in the pocket without being secured to the garment, and beingnearly transparent. the color of the garment will show through themavisible and inconspicuous. as there will be less contrast inappearance between the garment and the shield. However. the shield canbe made of other relatively still but thin sheet material which,preferably should harmonize more or less in color or appearance with thegarment with which it is to be used. The shield thus formed being oil.such light weight and yet of such stiffness as to be selfshape-retaining, will tend to 4 hold the pocket, even of a shirt oflight-weight material, in shape and prevent it from bagging or saggingout of shape and detracting from the neat appearance of the shirt orgarment.

The flap I4 and front leaf 1 I of the shield embrace between them theupper edge portion of the pocket front wall so as to aid in retainingthe shield in place in the pocket, and owing to their stiffness, theseparts of th shield will hold the upper portionof the pocket front wallfrom bulging outwardly, thereby preserving a neat appearanceand'lessening the chance of displacement of the shield from its intendedposition in the pocket, or the falling of articles from the pocket, Thisaction of the flap can be augmented if desired by corrugating or ribbingthe flap transversely as shown at i6. No separate or additionalfastenings or means for securing the shield in place are-required.However, when a pencil or similar article is used which is equipped withthe usual clip for retaining it in a pocket or holder, the pencil clipacts to clamp the folded flap ll of the shield on the upper edge portionof the pocket and (thereby firmly retain the shield in place in thepocket Furthermore, the flap portion of the shield will protect thepocket wall or edge to prevent the clip from wearing or tearing thesame. In addition, the corrugations of the flap, cooperating with theholding clip of the pencil or article will reduce the chance of theaccidental escape of the article from its place,

between the leaves of the shield.

In the simplest, lightest and least expensive drawings, its front andrear walls In and Ii are connected only at the bottom of the shield,leaving the side edges of the shield open. If desired however, the frontand rear walls can be secured together at their side edges, thus makingthe shield in the form of a thin case or container which is open at itsupper end only, being closed at its bottom and side edges so as toprevent the possibility of pencils or other slender articles fromprotruding from the container at its sides form of the shield, shown inFigs, 1 to 3 of the 4 or bottom and possibly puncturing the garmentpocket. This can be done in any suitable way, as for instance. byfolding'the side margins ll of one wall over the edges of and cementingor otherwise securing them to the other wall of the shield, as shown inFigs. 4 and 5. Any other appropriate means for securing together theside edge portions of the opposite shield walls could be employed, suchfor example as eyelet or other fastening elements passing through theside margins of the walls.

I claim as my invention:

A shield which is insertable into a pocket of a garment and which isformed of a single sheet of relatively stiff, thin material of a widthslightly less than thewidth of said pocket and of a length substantiallygreater than double the depth of said pocket, said sheet of materialbeing folded transversely with respect to its length to provide to coverand protect the portion of the garmentadjacent and above the pocketopening and the upper, end of the front panel being folded downwardly sothat it may overlie the upper edge-of the pocket to protect the upperportion of the outer side ofthe pocket ofthe garment and be engaged bythe clips of pencils and the like in sorted into the pocket, thematerial of said shield having a stiffness suflicient to cause saidpanels to remain upright without attachment to the garment, the sidemarginal edges of said front and rear panels being free with respect toone another, whereby said panels may lie flat against one anothersubstantially throughout the length of the front panel when the shieldis not in use and may readily separate with respect to one another whenanything is inserted into the pocket.

, HURLEY SMITH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

